Did you hear the good news? The mega-deal went down yesterday. And for all the jokes and fun we had, it was actually fairly mega – it’s very rare that that many picks and players are exchanged between that many clubs, all for one deal. So let’s go through it club-by-club to assess the damage.
First up, North Melbourne:
- Roos gained: Picks 2, 3, 40, 43, 2023 future first-round pick (tied to Port Adelaide)
- Roos lost: Jason Horne-Francis, draft pick number 1, 2023 third-round pick (tied to Fremantle)
So North’s hands were somewhat tied by Jason Horne-Francis’s trade request. The 2021 number one pick had already become a bit of a distraction throughout his debut season, and had the Kangaroos dug their heels in and forced him to see out his contract, you could easily imagine a situation where his presence is more disruptive than helpful.
With that in mind, though you can’t say North Melbourne were clear winners here, they’ve ended up in a reasonably strong position. The trade of pick one looks weird on paper, but if they have no interest in the player the Giants clearly want with that selection (more on that later), a deal to lock in picks two and three is pretty shrewd. Then they can spend 2023 death-riding Port Adelaide and hoping that future first-round pick turns into something really valuable in what looks like being a very strong draft.
Verdict: From a tough position, they’ve worked a pretty decent result. They will quite likely leave the draft with both George Wardlaw and Harry Sheezel, plus another first-rounder next year, and that’s probably close to making the best of a bad situation.
Source: AFL NEWS ABC
